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Mirror Images-Chapter 18
Chapter 18 ' '''Atticus ' Once again, Atticus was locked in combat with a god. Athena had been to tough for him. In his defence, Athena was a goddess of war while he was only a mortal created with limited combat knowledge. The same can't be said for Alfear was more than holding his own against Ares. Ares was hot-headed and at times reckless. His physical prowess was exceptionally, Atticus could say that. However, his swings were wild. Alfear however was different, he moved grace and ferocity. Where Ares's strikes were more forced, Alfear's were natural. It was as if the swords he held were merely extentions of his own body. Extra reach to his already deadly tactics. Atticus wished he had paid for attention to his opponent rather then Alfear as The Other delivered a crippling blow to him. Atticus crumpled to the floor. "Atticus!" Theresa screamed. She started to move towards him. "No!" He shouted back. Theresa was the whole backbone to this plan. She couldn't get hurt. The Child of Hemera stopped dead in her tracks. Even she was smart enough to understand when she wasn't needed. Personal Loyalty wasn't her flaw. Nor was it Over-Selflessness. The Other charged again and Atticus rolled to his feet. He raised Filargyria, blocking a strike from The Other with his swords of Darkness. Atticus was on pure defence now. Not because the Other had put him there but because he needed to find something out. He had to get close enough to The Other to know whether Christopher was still somewhere within. Hopefully his personality had not been swallowed up the the Other's prescence. If so, there was no way to get him back. Atticus struck out with Filargyria, he could only hold his own against the Other for so long. Eventually he will tire, The Other however was a god. "Give it up Mortal." The Other spoke with Christopher's mouth. "You are a 1000 years too early to fight me." Atticus couldn't argue with that. When the Other had first woken, he was rusty and weak. Now he has had the taste of battle again, he was a lot more powerful now. "Christopher would never say that. He always favoured and cherish mortal life." Atticus shot back, kicking The Other back. "I am not Christopher!" The Other exclaimed. "I am Crescendon!" "Yes you are. You and Christopher are two half of the same coin. Christopher was your compassion and bravery. You are the ferocity and power. Both of you are the same person!" "Silence!" The Other released a shockwave of darkness, knocking Atticus back. Atticus managed to roll to his feet and block a direct strike from the Other. The Other struck ferociously, he was mad now. It had hurt his pride to be compared to Christopher, who was a mortal, no matter how true the statement. "I ''AM ''the arrow of Nyx. My actions are her law. I am a god! I am a perfected being! You would know nothing about that Mortal! You are flawed and so easily broken! I will crush you like the bug you are!" The Other exclaimed. "Just like how you crushed the hearts of your loved ones? Like how you made Silena cry?!" Atticus shot back. The Other froze. His face no longer reflected any bloodlust or rage. Only sadness from realisation that he had made his little sister cried. Atticus smiled. This is what he was looking for. Christopher was still within, he could still be saved. "Christopher." Atticus dropped Filargyria, a sign that he no longer wanted to fight. "Fight The Other. The body is yours. Fight!" Christopher's eyes looked at him. Atticus didn't know who was looking through them Christopher or The Other. "Christopher." Atticus stepped closer and that was his mistake. The Other plunged a dark sword into Atticus's chest. A fatal blow. The Other leaned closer to Atticus, to whisper in his ear. "This body is mine. Not Christopher's." Atticus spat blood on The Other's chest. One last time he stared into those blood-red eyes. "Christopher, fight. Do it for Willow." At the sound of that name The Other recoiled back. He stepped back, holding his head in his hands. He starting screaming, with both Christopher's voice as well as the Other's. Christopher's body dropped to the floor, still screaming. '''Theresa I remembered screaming when The Other stabbed Atticus. Then The Other started screaming and then he crumpled to the floor. I didn't pay attention, I just to where Atticus had fallen. "Atticus!" I dropped down to my knees. "You okay?" "I just got stabbed, what do you think?" Atticus spat. I gathered light energy around and got ready to heal the wound but it wouldn't heal. "You can't heal a fatal wound Theresa." Alfear's voice appeared from behind me. "That's the limit of your power." "But-" I tried to argue, but there was nothing to argue about. This was the limits of my powers. Death isn't something you can play around with. Once he marks you, there's nothing left to do. You just had to accept Death. "Theresa?" Atticus croaked. Death was slowly coming to him, "Yeah? What? What is it?" I was holding his hand now. I've only known him for a while now, but he was a good ally. He willingly volunteered himself to help me with this quest. "Christopher-" He coughed out blood. "Christopher is still there. You can get to him. You can win!" Atticus was now hacking and gagging. "Hey, hey. Enough. Just rest." I told him. It hurt to see him in pain, it reminded me too much of Willow in her final moments. "She's right." Allison came and kneeled beside me. She wiped away a tear, I didn't even notice that I was crying. Allison turned to Atticus now. "Go ahead brother. You are released from the pain and torture of this world." Atticus gave a weak smile. "Thank you. Every single one of you." He said before his head went limp and he left the mortal world. Allison closed his eyes. "Goodbye Atticus. Go to the underworld without fear and pain. May you reach Elysium without obstruction." Then she proceed to kiss his forehead. It was a beloved kiss, it was a kiss from a warrior about to send off his comrade. I looked up, I realised that the gods had stopped fighting. Even Zeus and Poseidon were back, they were both staring between Atticus's body and The Other who was slowly getting to his feet. Allison took down a curtain from the halls of Olympus, then she covered Atticus's corpse. Protecting his corpse from the dangers of the outer world. Alfear was focusing only on The Other. His body language spoke that he was ready to strike out when needed. With eyes like a hawk, he gave his undivided attention at The Other. The Other on the other hand, was unsteady. He was standing now, but his back wasn't straight and his eyes were broken. He nothing at all like the god that the Olympians were fighting. He looked like a broken child, lost in carnival, left behind by his parents. "It's time Theresa. He's broken now. Whatever Atticus did, it worked. If there's ever a chance to get Christopher back, it's now." Allison said from behind me. I realised she was right. I would have no obstructions. The gods were still standing around staring at The Other. They were shock, they didn't know what to do. They expected fighting a powerful god, not someone who looks broken. "Alfear?" "Yes ma'am?" My warrior replied. "Do you have my back?" I asked. "I will follow you into Tartarus. It is my job." "Thank you Alfear." I said. I turned to Allison. "Go." She said. "If any of the gods try to anything funny, I'll stop them." I sighed. I steeled myself for the confrontation. I sent out a small prayer to Hemera. "Please..Give me the strength." I took my first step forward. Alfear was following behind me, ready to defend me. The Other simply just looked at me advance. His eyes were guarded again, emotionless and like steel. I read no emotion from them. It was something Christopher had done a lot, I just wished it was Christopher that was doing that. I stopped right in front of him. He did nothing, he just stared at me. His blood-red eyes met mine and I saw his expression softened, as if he started to recognise her. "Tess?" Christopher's voice said. "Chris?" I almost smiled. "Chris are you there?" "Theresa...." He said, he sounded so detached. Like he was trying to speak while he was underwater. He raised his hand and the darkness crawled over his hand forming a talons over his fingers. "....run." "Theresa!" Alfear lunged forward and pulled me away as The Other brought his hand down, crushing the floor I was standing on earlier. "His too far down. He's lost!" Alfear drew his swords, ready to fight. "No! Alfear don't!" I pulled him back, even though my hands went through his intangible body. "Look." I pointed at Christopher. He was screaming again. However this time he was arguing with himself. "You won't hurt her!" Christopher said. "You aren't the boss of me!" The Other said. I just watched them argue back and forth. It was a weird process, but I was glad it was happening. It meant that Christopher was fighting against the Other. It meant there was still a chance. "Alfear. Stay here." I tolf my guardian. "No! I will not allow you to face that creature alone!" "His not a creature. His my soulmate and I love him." I said. "That's why I need to help him." Without waiting for a comment from him or his consent, walked to towards Christopher. He was still arguing with the Other when he saw me, "No!" He screamed. "Stay away!" "You won't hurt me. I know you won't." I muttered. Still undetered I kept walking forward. "Tess stop!" Christopher was backing away now. "I can't control him. I don't want you to get hurt." "You won't hurt me. I know you won't." I repeated it again like a mantra. Christopher kept backing away, up until he backed up into a wall. He looked around desperately, like a cornered animal. "No! No!" He said desperately. I stopped right infront of him. There was no escape, for him or me. He couldn't escape a confrontation with me neither could I escape if he tried to strike at me. I took a step closer to him. We were so close now that I could feel his breath on the top of my head. Christopher raised his arm again, the darkness had once again made a gauntlet of darkness of his hand. The face that looked at me now was the Other not Christopher. I closed my eyes. "You won't hurt me. I know you won't." I repeated again. I waited for him to hit me. 5 seconds, 7 seconds. Nothing. I opened my eyes again. Christopher was now in control again. His eyes weren't guarded anymore, they displayed his emotions to the fullest. It was a mixture of sadness and confusion. "Tess..back away from me. Please." Christopher said. "I don't know how long I can keep him in check." "You won't hurt me. I know you won't. I love you and you love me too." I leaned forward and hugged him. "I missed you." Christopher's body was stiff, like he forgot how his body functions. Slowly his hands went up and went around my body, returning the embrace. "I missed you too." I pulled me in closer. It was weird when I haven't noticed this before, but my body fit exactly within the shape of his body. It was as if my body was made to fit into his. He embraced me tightly for a while and then he let me go. "Tess. I'm serious, you need to get away from me. I'm in control now, but I don't know how long this can last." I shook my mind. "No. I'm not leaving you again." I put my hand on the cheek. "We're in this together." "Tess-" I put my finger on his mouth. Then I shook my head. I remembered what Hemera had told me before. You had to make sure that the warrior always prevails over the monster. ''That was my job, that was my the purpose of my existance. I looked into his blood-red eyes, now once again they displayed safety and comfort. They represented Christopher. My boyfriend, my beloved, my soulmate. "Christopher Fauns. I swear on Styx that'll always love you and that'll always make sure the monster never prevails over the warrior." Thunder boomed as I finished my oath. Chris stared into my eyes, he didn't know what to say. Then he sighed and replied. "Theresa Ryder. I swear on Styx to always stay by your side and to always protect you from harm." Thunder boomed again, only it was much louder than the previous one. Then I felt it. It was like a tug. A rope attached to me and Christopher that would forever keep us together be it this life or the next. Christopher felt it too because he gasped in surprise. We stared at each other for a few seconds. Unsure of what will come next, but knew only one certainty. We were always going to be together now. "No!" The Other's voice suddenly exclaimed. Christopher lost control of his body again and the Other tried to lash out at me. He was unable to connect however because Christopher got control again. A pained expression covered his face. The battle was not over, his battle with The Other was still on. For once in a long time, Christopher gave me his signature mischevious smile. "I'll be right back. My Queen." Then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he crumpled to his knees. "Christopher!" I towards him. First thing I did was feel for a pulse, check. Then his breathing, check. So his body was functioning but no one was home. "Both of them have gone into the deepest reaches of their mind." Hestia moved to my side. "Their final battle will happen there." "I vote that we kill him now!" Zeus's voice boomed. "He's wounded and you saw how powerful this 'other' is. Christopher can't possibly beat him!" "Really Zeus?" Allison asked. "You're gonna strike Christopher down while his defenceless? How you must really want to face Nyx's wrath. Attacking a defenceless person is one thing but attacking a defenceless child of a really powerful goddess is another." Zeus cringed. Of course Nyx would be mad if one of her children were killed. Like Gaia, Nyx loved all of her children. "We will wait then." Poseidon spoke. "I'm sure Christopher will win." "I hope so too." I muttered. "Christopher..Come back to me. Please." I whispered. '''The Other' The Other just stood in the the depths of his mind. It was pure black, it was the representation of his own being. Pure darkness. A glimmer of silver light appeared behind him. The Other was already waiting for him, already prepared for the battle. Christopher appeared, still chained to the wall. Silver light began emitting from his bod, and the light burned away the chains holding him down. The young son of Nyx landed on the ground, rubbing his wrist which were in pain from being chained for so long. "So Other. It seems we get a rematch huh?" Christopher said. The Other smirked. "I am Crescendon, mortal. And I would like you to address me as such." "Correction, We are Crescendon. We are the same person. I just need to knock some sense back into you." Christopher said. "So be it then." The Other raised his fist infront him, ready for a fight. "So it'll be fisticuffs eh? Alright then. Come on, bring it." Christopher said too, raising his fists. Mirror Images Main Page <----Previous Chapter [[Mirror Images-Chapter 19|Next Chapter---->]] Christopher Fauns~Arrow of Nyx 13:44, March 27, 2013 (UTC) Category:Archie-Son of Poseidon Category:Fallen Angel Series Category:Chapter Page